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- Albrecht, Martin
(author)
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Enabling socio-technical transitions – electric vehicles and high voltage electricity grids as focal points of low emission futures
- 2017
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Today humankind is facing numerous sustainability challenges that require us to question CO2 intensive practices like those present in the transport and energy sector. To meet those challenges, many countries have adopted ambitious climate targets. Achieving such targets requires an understanding of the wider socio-technical context of transitions. The aim of this licentiate thesis is therefore to analyse such socio-technical transitions towards low-emission futures enabled by the electrification of passenger cars and high voltage grid development.A combination of different transitions theories (for ex. Multi-level perspective and Technological innovation systems) and institutional theory has been used. To reach the aim paper I analyses the climate impacts of electric vehicles (EVs) and policy measures to achieve a breakthrough scenario for EVs. The results show that a mixture of short and long term policies are needed that take into account the technology development stage and behavioural aspects of EV adopters. Paper II addresses the need to include the high voltage transmission grid and its planning procedures as a central part of debates on transitions. Therefore the opportunities, challenges and reasons for conflict in the established regime are studied. The results show that in order to achieve a sustainable grid development regime, it is necessary to spend time on achieving legitimacy and social sustainability. The third paper uses semi-structured expert interviews and focuses on innovation dynamics for EV adoption. By focusing on dynamics instead of single policy measures, it is possible to grasp interactions within a niche, but also in between a niche, regime and landscape. The results show that strong initial technology legitimacy was needed to start substantial innovation dynamics. This could be further strengthened with a strong and broad coalition of actors. Both those factors led, if present, to an improved variety and match of policy instruments.As such this thesis has shown that transitions are not just about technology or policy instruments as such but about the dynamics and processes needed to enable them. This can be relevant in other transitions that otherwise may underestimate the importance of these components.
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| 2. |
- Baigabylova, Nurgul
(author)
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Internationalization of production in Kazakhstan and its economic implications: the role of foreign investment and transnational corporations
- 2012
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This licentiate thesis examines the development of internationalization of production in Kazakhstan and its economic implications over the period 1991-2010. The main objectives of the thesis are to investigate the role of foreign investment and TNCs in the economic growth of Kazakhstan since its independence in 1991 and onward, to explore the motives that foreign enterprises have for investing in Kazakhstan, and to understand how the internationalization of production affected the Kazakhstani economy during the period 1991-2010. In order to address these objectives, the thesis utilizes Dunning’s eclectic paradigm to analyze the determinants of foreign investment in Kazakhstan. It also explores whether FDI in Kazakhstan is resource-seeking or market-seeking. The foreign investors are mainly interested in the extractive industries in Kazakhstan. In the period 1991-2010, on average 76 percent of the total FDI in the country was attracted to the primary sectors, mainly to oil and gas extraction, while the share of market-seeking investment was less than 3% of the total FDI inflow to Kazakhstan. The assessment of the Investment Development Path of Kazakhstan over the last two decades suggests that the level of development of the country may correspond to either stage II or III. The relatively high income level of Kazakhstan supports the conclusion that the country is entering stage III; however, the changes of inward and outward FDI in Kazakhstan, leading to increasingly negative NOI positions, characterize a country at stage II of the IDP. The second stage of the IDP is also characterized by significantly increasing inward FDI due to the development of some L-specific advantages that raise the country’s attractiveness to TNCs. However, outward FDI remains very limited because the O-advantages of domestic firms are still weak.
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| 4. |
- Hedefalk, Finn
(author)
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Life histories across time and space : methods for including geographic factors on the micro-level in longitudinal demographic research
- 2014
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Historical demography, which is the study of human population dynamics in the past, is central for understanding human behaviours and traits, such as fertility, mortality and migration. An important factor in demographic research is the geographic context. Where people lived often determined their social ties, exposure to diseases and economic development. Such information is essential not only for historical demographic research but also for a wide range of disciplines.While the geographic context on an aggregated level has an important role in longitudinal historical studies, geographic contexts on a micro-level have only played a minor role. This licentiate contributes to historical demographic research by studying how geographic factors on the micro-level can be included in longitudinal historical analyses. A primary focus is the methodological development for creating longitudinally detailed locations that can be linked to individuals in demographic databases. This research should offer a variety of possibilities for studying how geographic factors on the micro-level affected human living conditions throughout history. The thesis has four research objectives. The first objective is to extend a standardised data model for longitudinal demographic data to include geographic data. This is achieved by introducing IDS-Geo, which is a geographically extended version of the standardised data model IDS. The second objective is to develop and evaluate harmonisation methods to ensure that source data comply with standardised data models. This is achieved by testing and developing a method for first harmonising Swedish environmental data and metadata and then testing the data for compliance against standardised data models and specifications. The third objective is to develop a methodology for creating integrated longitudinal demographic and geographic databases that include geographic factors on the microlevel in demographic research. The core of the methodology is to transform geographic objects in snapshot time representations (digitised from historical maps) into longitudinal object lifeline time representations, and to link individuals to these geographic objects using standardised locations. The methodology is implemented in a case study in which we integrate information from approximately 60 digitised historical maps with longitudinal individual-level data from the Scanian Economic Demographic Database (SEDD). We link 80,431 individuals in five rural parishes in Sweden during 1813-1914 to the property units where they lived. The resulting database is tested using fundamental queries for spatio-temporal data. Additional historical geographic data used for computing context variables are constructed. The results are a unique contribution in terms of linking individuals over such long time periods to longitudinal geographic data on the micro-level. Lastly, the fourth objective of the thesis is to perform longitudinal demographic analyses where geographic factors can subsequently be included. This is performed by analysing the intergenerational effects of child bearing by relatively older women on the longevity of adult offspring in pre-transitional Utah, USA.
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| 5. |
- Hussein, Ahmad, 1967-
(author)
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Swedish trade and trade policies towards Lebanon 1920-1965
- 2011
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This licentiate thesis examines the development of Swedish–Lebanese trade relations and the changes of significance for Swedish trade towards Lebanon during the period 1920-1965. The aim of the study is to explore how Sweden as representing a small, open Western economy could develop its economic interests in the emerging Middle East market characterised both by promising economic outlooks, and a high degree of political instability during the age of decolonisation, Cold War logic, and intricate commercial and geo-political factors. The study shows that the Swedish trade with Lebanon was very small during the Interwar period. It was neither possible to find any formal Swedish-Lebanese trade agreements before 1945. In the Post-War period, the promotion of Swedish trade and trade policies towards Lebanon witnessed more interests from the both parties. Two categories of explanations were found for the periods of 1946-53 and 1954-65 respectively. In the first period the Swedish-Lebanese trade developed in a traditional direction with manufactured goods being exported from Sweden and agricultural products being exported from Lebanon. Furthermore, there were no trade agreements between the two countries. In the second period, several Lebanese attempts were made to conclude bilateral trade agreement with Sweden in hope to change the traditional trade direction, and to improve the Lebanese balance of trade. Sweden was, however, convinced that Lebanon could never achieve a balanced foreign trade at least not on a bilateral basis. To maintain a fair access to the Lebanese market, the Swedish authorities avoided to conclude any trade agreement with Lebanon. Despite the Lebanese concern on the big trade deficit between the two countries, Sweden managed in increasing the trade volumes to the region of Middle East through the transit link of Lebanon.
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| 7. |
- Johansson Åbonde, Anders
(author)
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Drömmen om svenskt silke : silkesodlingens historia i Sverige 1735-1920
- 2010
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Silkesodling är ett fantastiskt, men misslyckat, exempel på försöksodling i Sverige och har länge varit i det närmaste outforskat. Syftet med avhandlingen är att kartlägga och beskriva försöken med silkesodling i Sverige. De större odlingsförsöken var koncentrerade till tre perioder: 1735-1765, 1830-1898 och 1913-1918. Länge var silkesodlingens konst en välbevarad hemlighet i Kina. Silkesodlingen spreds till alltfler europeiska länder från och med 1500-talet. Det handlade nästan uteslutande om kostsamma kungliga projekt och i avhandlingen berörs utvecklingen i andra länder i norra Europa. Vi delar flera grundläggande förutsättningar med Danmark som särskilt studeras samt i vilken mån det skedde påverkan och samarbete mellan grannländerna. För kapitlen om 1700-talets försök och näringens historia i norra Europa har främst tryckta källor och litteratur anlitats. Flera av silkesodlarna på 1700-talet skrev om sina försök, vilket gjort att vi ingående kan följa deras ansträngningar och tankar om möjligheten att framgångsrikt odla silke i Sverige. För avsnitten där de svenska silkesodlingförsöken behandlas har främst arkivmaterial använts som underlag. Fokus ligger på Sällskapet för inhemsk silkesodlings förvaltningsutskotts protokoll och de tryckta årsberättelser som gavs ut under nästan femtio år. Avsnittet om 1900-talets korta försöksperiod bygger till stor del på material från Svenska silkesodlareföreningens arkiv. Silkesodlingens historia i Sverige tar sin början vid mitten av 1730-talet då Mårten Triewald bedrev försök och beskrev dem utförligt i Kungl. Vetenskapsakademiens handlingar. Carl von Linné var betydelsefull för satsningarna och han påverkade många under 1700-talet. Naturforskare anlitades som plantagedirektörer och de skulle förse svenska sidenfabrikörer med svensk råvara. Tanken om att kunna framställa inhemskt silke var förståelig då det importerades stora mängder råsilke från Kina och Sydeuropa till Sverige. Någon större spridning av näringen blev det dock aldrig. Vissa ekonomer talade om yppighet som ansågs vara nyttig för samhället. I den merkantilistiska näringspolitiken blev premier ett vanligt inslag och under 1750-talet utlystes premier för silke och planterade mullbärsträd. När hattpartiet förlorade makten försvann dock stödet för produktion av lyxvaror i landet. Sällskapet för inhemsk silkesodling bildades 1830 och var verksamt i nästan sjuttio år. Utländska influenser och tanken om att detta skulle kunna bli en folknäring bidrog. Flera kända vetenskapsmän deltog i arbetet och medlemmar av kungahuset var beskyddare. Sällskapet delade ut plantor och frön av mullbärsträd samt ägg av silkesfjärilen. De största kvantiteterna skickades till de planteringar som stod under Sällskapets eller olika läns hushållningssällskaps kontroll, men årsberättelserna vittnar även om att många privatpersoner planterade mullbärsträd och några ägnade sig också åt silkesodling. Försök med silkesodling kom att bedrivas på flera platser i landet, bland annat på initiativ från Jacob Berzelius. Verksamheten finansierades till största delen genom statsanslag, men ett stort antal bemedlade personer bidrog till satsningen på silkesodling. En viss inkomst kom från det producerade silket som nästan uteslutande inköptes av kungahuset. På 1910-talet bildades en ny förening för silkesodling i södra delen av landet. Resultatet av denna korta tredje period av försök var närmast obefintligt. Till perioderna av svenska silkesodlingsförsök hör flera envisa förespråkare och en tro på att någon ersättningsväxt skulle tåla det nordiska klimatet bättre. Vid upprepade tillfällen har det förekommit tal om att det vita mullbärsträdet acklimatiserats, men lika ofta har kalla vintrar och vårar bevisat motsatsen. Silkesodlingen i vårt land saknade, och saknar, ekonomisk rationalitet. Produktionen var alltför kostsam och ytterst beskedlig i förhållande till de stora mängder som importerades. Silkesodlingens historia i Sverige handlar om en lång rad försök under nästan tvåhundra år, men alltför mycket talade emot att drömmen om svenskt silke skulle kunna bli verklighet.
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| 10. |
- Levin, Mikael, 1981-
(author)
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Energy consumption transition : final household energy consumption in the case of Sweden 1920-2010
- 2012
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This licentiate thesis examines households’ final energy consumption over the long run by measuring their final energy use and examining how structural, institutional and economic factors affected the demand for energy in the residential sector during the period 1920-2010, a period covering the transition from traditional to fossil to renewable energy carriers. I believe that wider understanding of the historical energy transition and energy consumption within the residential sector might help us gain important insights into the long-run development and the factors affecting energy consumption among the households. By providing a new historical record and analysis of final energy consumption, this licentiate thesis extends the mainly supply-driven and aggregated literature on energy in the field of economic history.The empirical account of energy use shows that the households’ final energy use in the residential sector has undergone two large energy transitions during the twentieth century. The first occurred during the period 1930-1950, when households shifted from firewood and coal as their main energy carrier towards oil and electricity. The electric grid, in conjunction with new electrical appliances, changed patterns of consumption, standards of living and domestic work. It also provided a foundation for the later shift from oil to electricity in heating in the 1970s. The transition occurred simultaneously with large investments in residential buildings and with a growing variety of electrical appliances. The energy consumption in the increased rapidly during the period 1950-1973, until the OPEC 1 crisis initiated decreased consumption and the second energy transition.The second transition was characterized by the shift from oil to electricity and district heating. The process was driven by high oil prices and relatively low electricity/district heating prices due to the expansion of nuclear power and new usages of biofuel and wind power. With a higher reliance on electricity, the households received an energy source of higher quality. Since 1979 the residential sector’s energy consumption has declined, and the sector has seen a substantial decline in carbon dioxide emissions. The reduction of energy consumption and the transition to non-fossil fuels contributed to substantial reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. For energy at large, household tended to reduce consumption when real energy prices increases more than real income. For the energy mix, household has tended to shift when relative price changes has affected the utility of consuming different energy carriers. Households shifted from oil when the price on energy services derived from electricity and district heating became relatively lower than oil
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